Real world patterns of failure in anonymity systems

Abstract

We present attacks on the anonymity and pseudonymity provided by a "lonely hearts" dating service and by the HushMail encrypted email system. We move on to discuss some generic attacks upon anonymous systems based on the engineering reality of these systems rather than the theoretical foundations on which they are based. However, for less sophisticated users it is social engineering attacks, owing nothing to computer science, that pose the biggest day-to-day danger. This practical experience then permits a start to be made on developing a security policy model for pseudonymous communications.